A long time passed.
Exactly how long this long while lasted, Shangguan Yunying herself couldn't say.
She only knew that she was immersed in that kiss, like a moth darting toward a flame, fully aware of the danger yet unable to extricate herself.
It wasn't until her lungs burned with the stinging pain of oxygen deprivation that she finally let go of Gu Chengyin.
As their lips parted, a moist sound echoed in the air.
Shangguan Yunying gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently, her cheeks so red they looked as if they might bleed.
A hazy, watery sheen still lingered in her eyes, and her swollen, moist lips gave off an alluring luster in the dim light.
An unprecedented sense of satisfaction welled up from the deepest depths of her heart.
She had kissed him.
Not passively receiving, but actively demanding.
Not in a deserted alleyway, not in some hidden corner, but in the bedchamber of the Crown Princess, right beside Her Highness's bed.
The thrill brought on by this insane act made her whole body tremble, yet it also felt incredibly exhilarating.
However, this exhilaration lasted for only a brief moment.
When Shangguan Yunying panted and raised her head, her gaze collided with another pair of eyes.
Right beside Gu Chengyin, less than a foot away.
Luo Zhao.
Her Highness.
At some unknown point, Luo Zhao had sat up.
Those phoenix eyes, usually so majestic and sharp, were now looking at her calmly.
No anger, no shock, no shame, no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.
It was as if she were watching something that had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Shangguan Yunying's heart completely stopped beating in that instant.
Her breathing stalled.
Her blood froze.
Time was suspended.
It was over.
It was all over.
Her Highness saw it.
Saw her take the initiative to kiss Gu Chengyin.
Saw her pin Gu Chengyin against the bed.
Saw her commit such a shameless act in the Crown Princess's bedchamber.
Shangguan Yunying's mind went completely blank.
But in the next second, Shangguan Yunying realized something was wrong.
Too calm.
Luo Zhao's eyes were far too calm.
So calm it was unreal.
If Her Highness had truly seen that scene just now, even if she wasn't furious, she should at least show shock, disgust, or the anger of being offended.
But there was nothing in Luo Zhao's eyes.
Like a pool of stagnant water, calm and rippleless.
Shangguan Yunying had seen this kind of look before.
This was not the real Luo Zhao.
It was a puppet of consciousness.
The real Her Highness had not shown herself.
This realization woke Shangguan Yunying from the abyss of fear.
Her heart began to beat again, her blood began to flow again, and her breathing grew rapid once more.
Just as Shangguan Yunying's thoughts were churning, Gu Chengyin also sat up.
His movements were very slow, his green robes making a faint rustling sound as they rubbed against the bed.
Then he turned his head, his eyes meeting Luo Zhao's.
The bedchamber was very dark, illuminated only by the moonlight filtering in through the window and the faint glow of the night lamp on the dressing table.
But this little bit of light was enough to illuminate Luo Zhao's face.
Absolutely beautiful.
The moonlight shone in from the side, casting shadows of varying depths across her face.
Her eyelashes were long and thick, casting fan-shaped shadows under her eyelids.
Her nose was straight, her lip color pale, and her skin emitted a fine, porcelain-like luster in the moonlight.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
Yet her eyes were so hollow it made one's heart ache.
That was not the look of someone awake, not a look of anger, not a look any normal person should have.
It was the look of being thoroughly controlled.
Submissive, vacant, devoid of emotion.
A perfect state of hypnosis.
Gu Chengyin narrowed his eyes.
His gaze swept over Luo Zhao's face inch by inch, trying to find even the slightest flaw on this flawless visage.
Was there any unnatural tension in the muscles at the corners of her eyes?
Was there an imperceptible twitch in the curve of her mouth?
Was there a momentary disruption in the rhythm of her breathing?
Was there a brief acceleration in the beating of her heart?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Luo Zhao simply looked at him calmly, her eyes hollow, her expression serene, her breathing even, her heartbeat steady.
Like an exquisite puppet waiting for its master's command.
Gu Chengyin's heart sank bit by bit.
Time and time again, he probed.
Time and time again, he confirmed.
Every single time, Luo Zhao displayed a perfect state of hypnosis.
Without a single flaw.
Without a single abnormality.
As if she were truly hypnotized.
As if...
Gu Chengyin silently repeated these words in his heart.
He remained suspicious.
But suspicion required proof.
And right now, all conclusions pointed to the fact that Luo Zhao was indeed hypnotized.
It was like a person who constantly did good deeds; you could call them a hypocrite, but what if they kept up that hypocrisy for an entire lifetime?
Her Highness... is awake?
Shangguan Yunying's cautious voice broke the silence in the bedchamber.
She had recovered from her initial fear, but her voice still trembled slightly.
Looking at Luo Zhao's hollow eyes, and then at Gu Chengyin's solemn expression, complex emotions surged in her heart.
Gu Chengyin shook his head.
His gaze remained fixed on Luo Zhao's face as he said with a slight headache:
Her Highness is not awake.
The one who woke up is not Her Highness.
These words were spoken quite cryptically.
Shangguan Yunying bit her lower lip lightly, then suddenly raised her hand and smacked Gu Chengyin.
It is all your fault!
The force wasn't heavy; it was more like a coquettish reprimand.
You scared me half to death just now! I thought Her Highness had seen us. If that had happened, I would be completely doomed!
Shangguan Yunying pouted, her tone carrying a hint of reproach, while she silently added in her heart:
Actually, I am already doomed.
The real Her Highness definitely saw it.
She just couldn't come out right now, couldn't express her anger, couldn't punish her.
But that didn't mean the matter was over.
Once Gu Chengyin left and Luo Zhao switched back...
Shangguan Yunying didn't dare to think about it.
Gu Chengyin let out a deep breath, then said:
It is my fault.
Then he said to Luo Zhao:
Go back to sleep. Pretend I was never here.
This was a command.
In a hypnotic state, Luo Zhao would unconditionally execute her master's commands.
Sure enough.
Upon hearing the command, Luo Zhao lay back down, her eyes slowly closing.
Her breathing became even and long once more, and her body settled back into a comfortable sleeping posture.
The entire process was natural and fluid.
Without any hesitation, without any resistance, without any flaws.
Like a precision machine executing a preset program.
Gu Chengyin watched silently.
Watched Luo Zhao close her eyes, watched her steady breathing, watched her enter a state of deep slumber.
No flaws.
He couldn't find a single flaw.
There truly wasn't even the slightest hint of a flaw!
Gu Chengyin didn't want to believe it, but he had to admit it.
At present, he could find no evidence to prove that Luo Zhao was faking it.
It seemed...
He could only get the answer from Gu Xiaoli.
Gu Chengyin turned his head to look at Shangguan Yunying.
The moonlight shone in through the window, casting half-bright, half-dark shadows across her face.
The blush on her cheeks had yet to fade, her lips were slightly swollen, and a hazy, watery sheen still lingered in her eyes.
Do you know where Xiaoli is?
Gu Chengyin asked, his voice very calm.
Shangguan Yunying froze for a moment, thought about it, and said:
Because you were coming tonight, I had her go to one of the other side halls.
You need to find her?
Gu Chengyin nodded. I have a small matter to discuss with her, but there is no rush. Tomorrow will do.
Shangguan Yunying nodded, her tone natural. Alright.
The bedchamber fell into a temporary silence.
Shangguan Yunying looked at Gu Chengyin, and then looked at the soundly sleeping Luo Zhao.
A crazy thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Since His Highness continued to feign sleep...
Since Gu Chengyin had already confirmed the hypnotic state...
Then, could she, perhaps, be a little bolder?
Things had already come to this anyway.
His Highness had already seen it anyway.
She was already doomed anyway.
Shangguan Yunying took a deep breath.
Then, she leaned in close to Gu Chengyin's ear.
Exhaling a warm, fragrant breath,
she kept her voice incredibly low, lacing it with a hint of provocation:
"Shall we... continue?"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
